Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Not every guitarist records. In fact, most guitarists will nevermake a recording of themselves. However, many of the burdensassociated with the task of recording have been, in recentyears, pushed aside. In the past, it was necessary to assemblean entire team of people to make recordings. You had to have oneor two engineers, usually a producer, several band members andgenerally a few hangers-on who just wanted to get in on theaction. As technology has increased, the amount of laborassociated with recording has decreased, along with the numberof people needed to produce recordings.

For most guitarists who want to record, especially in a homestudio, the recording environment will consist of three primarythings: the guitar, the amplifier or direct device, and therecording device. All three of these are of equal importance inproducing quality guitar recordings.

First, you must make sure that your guitar is of quality and ingood working condition. If you're not up to the challengeyourself, take it to a quality repairperson who will be able tomake sure that your string heights are adjusted correctly, theaction is comfortable and that your electronics are in workingorder and free of buzzing and other electrical noise.

Second, the amplifier or direct interface. More and more thesedays, guitar recordings are made with direct recordinginterfaces, such as the Line6 POD. These types of devices can begreat time-savers in the studio and, more and more, can offeryou a tone equivalent to or better than a traditional amplifiedsignal. If you're more of a purist, make sure that you have aquality microphone to pick up the signal from your amplifier(the standard is a Shure SM57) and that your signal is free frominterference. This means making sure that your amplifier,microphone and microphone cables are free of buzzing and thatall fluorescent lights in the recording environment are turnedoff. Fluorescent lights, although great energy-saving devices,reflect up to sixty percent of their energy back into thesystem. If an amplifier or loudspeaker is hooked up to thesystem, a beautiful 60-cycle hum ensues, ensuring that whateverrecordings you make are utterly useless.

Third, the recording device. For most of us these days, ourprimary recording device is a home computer. Macintosh has beenthe industry standard for years, but most PC makers have revvedup their models enough (and made them crash-free enough, thankyou very much) so, although the majority of studios still useMacs, the only real difference is your personal preference.Whatever type of computer you decide to purchase, however, makesure that you max it out with speed and memory.

Although many computer programs and direct recording deviceswill have some pretty good-sounding presets, to get originaltones, make sure that you experiment and try to come up withsomething that sounds original. Many presets are loaded withgain and effects to make them sound impressive to first timehearers. Remember, a whole lot of great guitar sounds have beenrecorded with a minimal amount of distortion, and effects canalways be added later, so don't risk screwing up a great take bycommitting your effects to tape right away, without being sureof the tone that you're going for.

Good Luck!

About the author:You can find more information about guitars, recording andrecording techniques at http://www.guitar-4u.com/.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

I'll never forget it. Several years ago I was on my way to seeKISS in concert (first time seeing them with makeup, I mightadd) with a good friend of mine. She was interested in music asI was; she had taken piano lessons for ten years or so.Inevitably the conversation during the drive turned tomusic...all different aspects of it.

We got to the subject of what exactly music instrument lessonsreally teach you, and I asked her a very simple theory question:"What is the chord spelling for a minor chord?" (in case you arewondering, the answer is 1, flat 3, 5...more on this in laterarticles).

I was shocked to find out that she had absolutlely NO idea whatI was talking about.

I tried to explain to her the basic theory behind this question,but see seemed to get more confused as we went. I just could notunderstand how someone that had taken lessons for ten yearscould not have the slightest inclination as to what she wasplaying. She stated "all I ever was taught was how to read music- what notes on the page corresponds to what key on the piano".

This simple conversation had shown me how important it was to atleast have some sort of understanding of basic music theory. Iknow...there are many, many guitar players and musicians outthere that are perfectly happy with their level of knowledge (my brother-in-law has been trying to learn guitar for the pastyear simply to be a chick-magnet).

I guess my point is this: going beyond the chord books and scalecharts and guitar tab and standard music notation is thisliving, breathing "thing" that you can't really appreciate untilyou "get into it". I have found that once you get the urge todevelop more knowledge about theory, it can be hard to stop.Granted, everyone has a level where they are comfortable...butyou would be doing yourself and your music a dis-service by nottrying to get to that point. It kind of struck me as sad that Iwould never be able to jam with my friend and be able to yellout "follow me - play a 1-4-5 12 bar blues in 'E'".

Do I know or claim to know everything about theory? Absolulelynot...but I am comfortable with the level I am at. I can sit inwith any rock back and hold my own. Now jazz on the otherhand...I know I would have to do some work. But you know what?That's OK!

By the way (just in case you were wondering)...the concert wasAWESOME!!!

About the author:Jerry Mathis has 25 years of guitar experience - playing,teaching, recording and performing live. Visit his website 1StopGuitar.com to getyour guitar tablatures, articles, reviews, accessories and moreall in one place!

If you are a beginner and can't come up with cash for a Gibson Les Paul, try the Epiphone Les Paul. They are a sub of Gibson and the guitars are mass produced to all the specs of the handmade Gibsons. Check this one out.

Epiphone Les Paul Studio Electric Guitar:This set neck Les Paul offers all the characteristics of its Gibson cousin and all those fat Les Paul tones at a price that easy to handle. Dual humbucking pickups in the Les Paul tradition provide the tone power, with lots of sustain and plenty of girth.

Friday, November 18, 2005

Any guitar players on your gift list? Check out Zzounds online. You're sure to find anything they may need. Order early so that the gifts get to you in time. There are tons of special pricing deals for the holiday season so now is a good time for deals.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

For a change of pace try to compose songs on the piano instead of your guitar. Here's an interesting that explains how Springsteen took his songwriting to another level.

What Bruce Springsteen Taught Me About Writing

By: Sophfronia Scott

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the release of BruceSpringsteen's groundbreaking album Born to Run. Columbia Recordsis celebrating by re-releasing the disc with lots of audio andvideo goodies including interview material of Bruce discussingthe writing of this seminal work. I'm a fan, so you can imagineI've been gobbling up this stuff like Thanksgiving came early!What's hitting home for me is hearing about how Springsteen'sback was really up against the wall while he was creating thisalbum. His record label was considering dropping him so he knewhe had to make something happen. When people ask me "how do Iknow if my work is good enough?", I think of Springsteen becausesurely he wasn't asking that when he was trying to figure outwhat to write. The answer could have been "it's not" if he hadasked someone at his record company. He had to work and learnfor himself how to tell if his work was good enough. This iswhat I learned from how he did it.

1.) Learn From the Great Ones

In the summer of 1974 Springsteen could have been lamenting thefact that his first two albums had not been successful and hewas living in a tiny house in New Jersey while the country wasin the throes of a severe economic depression. But he wasn't. Hewas focused on his songwriting. "I had a record player by theside of my bed," he wrote in his book, Songs. "At night I'd lieback and listen to records by Roy Orbison, the Ronettes, theBeach Boys, and the other great '60s artists. These were recordswhose full depth I'd missed the first time around. But now I wasappreciating their craft and power." Notice he wasn't saying"There's no way I can create songs like that!" Instead he wasconsidering "what can I add to the conversation?" He was gettinginspired and educated at the same time.

2.) Aspire to Be Great Yourself

In an interview about Born to Run, Springsteen says he knew hisrecord company was about to drop him. He added, "I knew I had towrite something great." Springsteen didn't have to writesomething great. He could have folded up his tent and said,"they don't like me, I'm just gonna stay in Asbury Park and playwhere people appreciate me and that's it." But he didn't dothat. He also didn't ask whether he was good enough. He simplychallenged himself to go beyond himself--to be great. Askyourself: what are you writing right now and is it challengingyou to be great? What would it take for you to start thinkingthis way?

3.) Find Trusted Ears for Feedback

Yes, it is hard to know on your own whether you're on track withyour writing. That's when you recruit your own inner circle ofreaders whose ears and eyes you trust. Jon Landau became one ofthose trusted pairs of ears for Springsteen. They became friendsduring the writing of Born to Run and Bruce often sent Jon, thena Boston music critic, tapes of the work as it progressed. Whenthe work stalled, Landau was the one who came in and helpedBruce put it all together. Who can be those ears or eyes foryou? Try to keep the inner circle small. If you have too manyopinions showered on your work it may cloud your creativejudgment.

4.) Try Something Different

Most of the songs on Born to Run were written on piano--thisfrom a guy known for his raucous Fender guitar. But writing onpiano gave Springsteen new ideas and presented new opportunitiesfor him to explore. It also gave the album an amazinglyemotional and intimate vibe that I find intoxicating. What canyou do differently that can inspire a leap to your next level?Set your novel in 1905 instead of 2005? Write from the point ofview of the opposite sex? Be a little creative with yournon-fiction? Take a chance. No effort is ever wasted even ifyou're writing badly--you can still learn from what you've donewrong.

5.) Think Local, Write Global

One of the changes Springsteen made with Born to Run was thatthe characters in his songs were "less eccentric and less local"than the ones on his previous albums. The people in Born to Run"could have been anybody and everybody," he says. "When thescreen door slams on 'Thunder Road', you're not necessarily onthe Jersey Shore anymore. You could be anywhere in America." Andit's true. Millions of people connected with--and bought-- Bornto Run. I sought the same kind of connection for my novel.Though the family in All I Need to Get By is African-American,I've had readers of all races tell me how they have seenthemselves in one or more of the characters and how they relatedstrongly to the book's family issues. Touching people in thisway is key to developing an attentive audience. How can you openup your work to a larger audience while still being true to yourstory?

If you still have doubts, think of this quote from Ralph WaldoEmerson: "Whatever course you decide upon, there is alwayssomeone to tell you that you are wrong. There are alwaysdifficulties arising which tempt you to believe that yourcritics are right. To map out a course of action and follow itto an end requires...courage." Be courageous for yourself andyour writing. Your own Born to Run may be waiting to come out.

About the author:Author and Writing Coach Sophfronia Scott is "The Book Sistah"TM. Get her FREE REPORT, "The 5 Big Mistakes Most Writers MakeWhen Trying to Get Published" and her FREE online writing andpublishing tips at http://www.TheBookSistah.com The Book Sistah,230 South Main St. Ste. 319, Newtown, CT 06470 203-426-2036,Info@TheBookSistah.com

Sunday, November 13, 2005

While most bands have good or even very good drummers, guitarplayers, and bassists (notice I didn't say singers), most bandsdon't have good songwriters. In fact, songwriting is usually anafterthought with most bands. That's why I came up with the 10songs in one hour challenge.

That's right, if you did the math, you quickly figured out thatthe band must write a song every 6 minutes to stay on target andTHEY MUST STAY ON TARGET. That's the challenge. You must enforcethat they have to get 10 songs done in one hour.

Here's how I do it: I divide the band in groups of two. If theyare a three piece, I'll jump in and play along. Each group getsa guitar, a small amp, and small PA system. I put a wall ofgobos (sound deadening device) in between them and I hit gowhile recording both the guitar amp and vocal mic from eachroom. One person is expected to sing, the other is expected toplay guitar. After each song is written, they must switch.

While this method might seam a little off the wall, it's thebest way to get a band to work creatively together. It breaksdown a lot of barriers and it's common for about 10% of thesongs to be very good. I like this method because it solves alot of problems. It forces the band to be a band.

One problem the 10 songs in one hour challenge fixes is thenotion that the singer has to come up with all the melodies.Why? Okay, a singer should be able to sing, but the melody isthe entire song in my opinion. The only thing separating a greatsong from a crappy song is vocal melody, in my world. So, let'sget the entire band in on writing the melodies. You'd besurprised how good your drummer might be at creative vocalmelodies.

A lot of guys are shy in front of the mic. I've never recordedany Kansas type bands where the entire band can sing. I'm luckyto find a band where one guy can sing. So the guy withabsolutely no clue about singing must get on the mic and do it.Even when a terrible singer gets on the mic, the intent isusually clear. A real singer would have no problem making yourdrummer's melody sound great. So when you force a guy to sing,he usually adapts to his situation.

It forces everyone to play guitar or similar instrument. This isgreat. It makes the drummer pick up an instrument that he's notused to. If he can't play it, he must deal with it. That's partof the process. He can play one note lines if he has to. I justwant a song. Seldom does proficiency at the instrument effectthe quality of the song.

While there are certainly exceptions, a band that is not used towriting a lot of songs, simply won't write a lot of songs. Byadapting to this lighting fast method, the band will understandthat not ever song has to be great. In fact, you need to write afew terrible songs on purpose just so your brain will becreative enough to do something interesting. Bands play it safeall the time. They feel like each song has to be great. In fact,it's the opposite. I noticed it more with 80s pop groups whoweren't going to be dropped after the first record like they arenow. They would come up with the most screwed up, stupid songssometimes. Listen to a bunch of Human League. They had at least3 top 10 hits, but then listen to "Black Hit of Space" or"Empire State Human". You can tell they just messed around. Whenyou are actually being creative and experimenting is when youwill come up with your hits and your crap.

I'm not saying that the 10 songs in one hour method is the bestmethod for all bands. I think it's a great method for bands whoneed to come together as a group. It's a great songwriting toolfor any band that just expects the singer to write songs. Thereis no finger pointing. Every band member is responsible forwriting great tunes in this situation.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

I've owned my Rivera Knucklehead since 1998. It's a small partof my guitar amp collection which consists of more than 5 amps.I'll tell you how the Rivera Knucklehead performs both on stageand in the studio.

Not surprising, Rivera is owned by some guy named Paul Rivera. Iguess it's a little surprising that his name is Paul, but that'sabout it. While I hate to spread rumors about facts I don'tknow, this is press, and that's that the press is all about. Therumor on the street is that Paul Rivera worked for both Marshalland Fender for years modifying guitar amplifiers for the rockstars that could afford to have them modified. If this is true,it will explain a lot about the Rivera Knucklehead.

The Rivera Knucklehead is a 100 watt, all tube, 2 - channelguitar head. Each channel has a gain boost. Both channelswitching and the gain boosts can be controlled by thefootswitch. As with every 100 watt head, this thing isferociously loud. It contains an effects loop with control ofinput and output for effects and whatnot. The Knucklehead uses 512ax7 tubes for the preamps and 4 EL 34 power tubes. Eachchannel contains tone controls and a Focus and a Presence knobare global, which means they effect both channels. It would havebeen nice to have a spring reverb on the Rivera. That's the onlyfeature that it's lacking.

American Channel (Clean Channel) First off, I must say that theclean channel isn't so much like a clean channel, necessarily.It's more like a Fender channel. I mean that if you crank up thegain on the clean channel, you will have a very distorted soundin the way that a Fender distorts. This sound is not going to bewhat you want for metal in most cases, although it might pulloff an Iron Maiden type of sound. Turning the "Ninja Boost" offand backing the gain down brings you back down into Fenderterritory. It's not an exact clone of the Fender sound,necessarily. The tubes used are not typically found in Fendersand even if you had the same tubes, the Fender sound is quitedifferent from amp to amp. You have tremendous options in yourtone. I mean TREMENDOUS!!! You have the typical bass, mids, andtreble. By pulling out the treble pot you engage the "brightboost" and when you pull out the mids you engage the "midscoop". The tone controls are the most sensitive that I've everseen on a guitar amplifier. In fact, the tone knobs can be toosensitive.

Plugging a strat or tele gives you the real deal tone. It'spretty much a Fender amplifier. Plugging a Les Paul or PRS is adifferent ball game. The tones are absurd on this channel. Youshould be able to get anything you want out of this Fender sidethat you would expect a Fender to do. This amp is very sensitiveto different guitars and it's tone will change more drasticallythan other amps.

Distortion Channel (Marshall Channel) Alright, I called thisside of the amp the Marshall channel. The tone is not exactly aMarshall. I own a 1971 Marshall Super Lead. It's sound is quitea bit different than what you hear in the Rivera. I wouldn't saythe tone is necessarily better or worse, but different. When youget to this caliber of guitar amplifiers, they are all good,it's just a matter or preference.

The distortion channel has a gain boost, bass, mids, and treble.Once again, these tone controls are as sensitive as you willever find in a guitar amp. It's stupid how much control you haveover your tone. This amp has too much gain, if you want too muchgain. With a Les Paul, I don't think I've put the gain past 12 OClock, ever. You would not believe how different this amp soundswhen you take the mids to 0 and then up to 10. It's a night andday difference. With the gain boost turned off, this thing feelslike a good medium to low gain distorted amplifier. As I said,choosing the right guitar and tone settings can be timeconsuming, but getting whatever you want is a possibility. It'sworth trying all your guitars with this amp. There will be somethat obviously shine more than others. In this setting, it's noproblem at all pulling off tones such as AC/DC and other 70stones. I'd probably go with my 1971 Superlead first for thisapplication though, just because of the tone differences, but Icould make a guitar player looking for that tone very happy aswell.

When you engage the gain boost, this thing is all out death. I'mtalking deathmetal death, if that's what you are looking for. Inmy opinion turning up the gain to a stupid amount, cranking thelows and highs, and scooping out all the mids is tremendousoverkill. I'd say it's unusable. The kid down the street maytotally love it, though. I guess that's the great thing aboutthis amp. You can make the sound too thin or too thick....toobright or too dull. It's up to your playing, your guitar, andyour tone settings.

With the gain boost on and the all settings on 7, this amp is afull blown rock machine The tones inside this amp areimpressive. You will find a sound that you like. It just takessome time to find that perfect combination. This takes more timethan a Marshall does. Sometimes the mids on 5 are too much whenthe lows are on 6. But lowering the lows down to 5 might requirea little more mids, for example. I'm saying that the tonecontrols are high dependent on each other.

This amp would always be my first choice playing out live. It'sa mammoth sound if I want and gives me 4 great sounds with thefootswitch. Going from mega gain to dirty clean is just a stepaway. Going from pretty clean to low gain distortion is alsojust a click away. I'd say it's one of the best live amps youcan buy.

In the studio.... well, this thing gets used on just about everyproject I do. I haven't found a project that it didn't work wellon. I've recorded country, rock, and death metal with this ampand every single one of them was very happy with it.

In conclusion, I wouldn't change a thing about the Rivera. It isworth every penny.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

In the sixties when The Beatles were bursting onto the scene it was a J160E that John Lennon played on their first single and was seen using for recordings, TV and live performances. A brassy, high-output acoustic/electric sound combined with its punchy, warm acoustic tone recreates the sound which led a musical revolution in the '60s. Gibson's J-160E features a solid Sitka Spruce top, Mahogany back and sides, trapezoid fingerboard inlays, P-100 stacked humbucker at the neck, and volume and tone controls. Includes free Gibson hardshell case - a $150 value.